Irken (Language)
'Irken' is also the name of the Irkens' language. It is perceived to the listener as their own native language, therefore has never been documented in its original Irken sounds. Although it is possible that the common language of the Invader Zim universe is English, since Dib had heard the transmission of Operation Impending Doom II from planet Conventia and was able to perfectly understand it, and in turn he was understood by the Tallest when he made a transmission to them from Zim's own base in The Frycook What Came from All That Space. The written form of Irken consists of a series of indistinguishable characters in the show. The show's creator had no Irken character chart in mind when he had Irken letters appear on screens and the opening sequence of the show. The Irken subtitles on the DVDs and the show itself had totally different characters. The ones on the subtitles consist of the first 20 letters of the alphabet (A-T). The rest of the letters have apparently not been developed, leading to controversy as to whether it is the true language at all; it is however possible that the remaining sounds (U, V,W, X,Y, Z) either do not exist, or do not need separate letters in their alphabet, as most of their sounds can be achieved with other letters. Because there is no letter for Z, the main character's name is spelled IM on the DVD subtitles. One possible explanation is that a Z sound is automatically added before any word that begins with a vowel, but this is mere conjecture as there is presently not evidence enough to check against this. Another possibility might be that the correct spelling of ZIM in the Irken language is actually SIM. The only evidence for the actual sounds of the Irken language are the names of the Irken characters, and what was shown in the episode "Mysterious Mysteries", where Dib recorded a video of Zim and GIR talking in some alien dialect while out of their disguises, probably Irken, however this is not confirmed. It is notable that Zim, when pronouncing his own name, seems to frequently pronounce it zîm, with a somewhat rounded I, and not the more common zĭm, especially when he is alone or talking to himself. If this is done intentionally by the voice actor, it may be an indication of native Irken pronunciation of that vowel -- the pronunciation of the I's in Miyuki and Dookie are likewise similar, as is the sound of the double-E in Spleen. Double-O would appear to represent an ōō in sound, as in Dookie and Skoodge, thus perhaps the lack of need for a letter U in their alphabet. The Irken language does seem to accept multiple consonants side by side. Following is a list, by no means complete, of Irken names: Invader Alexovich; Invader Chin; Invader Dooky; Invader El; Invader Flobee; Invader Gooch; Invader Grapa; Invader Groot; Invader Kim; Invader Koot; Invader Krunk; Invader Larb; Invader Lardnar; Tallest Miyuki; Invader Nen; Invader Pesto; Tallest Purple; Invader Poot; Tallest Red; Invader Sklud; Invader Skoo; Invader Skoo; Invader Skoodge; Invader Skutch; Invader Slacks; Invader Slant; Sizz-Lorr; Invader Sneakyonfoota; Invader Spleen; Invader Sploodge; Tallest Spork; Invader Sqood; Invader Stink; Tak/Janitorial Drone; Invader Tenn; Invader Tim; Invader Yoogli; Invader Zee; Zim. The names Miyuki, Skutch and Zim all contain letters that appear to not exist in Irken. Miyuki could theoretically be spelled Miooki to achieve the same pronunciation, and a theory on Zim's name can be found above. Skutch might be perhaps Skatch or Sktch; it also could possibly be a variant and/or related name to Skoodge, just as English Mary and Marie are variants on the same name. It is also possible that these names are not native to the Irken language.Since very little is known about Irken naming practices, nothing can be said with any certainty. It is notable that Irkens do have a diminutive attachment for names in their language, as evidenced in Hobo 13 when Tallest Purple addresses Table-Headed Service Drone Bob as "Bobby." Other evidence for the vocabulary and sentence structure of Irken might perhaps be found in Zim's sometimes odd turns of phrase. (i.e. "arm-control nerve", "noise-tube", "cleansing-chalk" et al.) It is possible that he is using what might be correct terms in Irken, but which translate badly into English, or it could be due to his questionable sanity. It is also notable that Zim is capable of mistranslating English himself at times, as in Tak, the Hideous New Girl where Dib accuses Zim of being jealous, which Zim apparently interprets to mean jelly ("This has nothing to do with jelly!"). It is, however, certainly possible that Zim was simply not paying attention, as he is known to do. Category:Irken Empire Category:Irken Society